l'esprit d'escalier

Friday, June 16, 2006

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the thing you wish you'd said

Previous Posts

• my new favorite quote
• Emily Dickinson
• Sylvia Plath
• Hello, Gov'nor!
• a ditty and a sonnet
• Dorothy Parker
• I want this!
• neither wine nor God can save you
• It is almost April 4th!

Nice

DG's World
I Only Speak the Truth
Miss Doxie
College and Kimchi
Cutting to the Chase
What Not to do in Asia
Girls Are Pretty (funny and addictive)

Naughty

Max it out, we dare ya!

T-Shirt Hell
Love My Shoes
Organize-Everything
the artfilm collection
Northern Sun
Bookslut

For your edification

St. Baldricks
The Gadgets Weblog
IFC TV Uncut
Sooner Sports
BrainyQuote
Snopes
Bartleby

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"L’esprit d’escalier" doesn’t really have a phrase with the same meaning in English, but the literal translation is “the wit of the stairs.” It is when you have just walked away from an argument or discussion where you’ve been kind of shocked or stumped, then you think of the perfect thing that you didn’t say, but it is too late; your wit didn't catch up to you until you were already on the stairs.